India tour of England 2025: Why were England angry at Ravindra Jadeja's antics?
When it comes to intense on-field rivalry, England-India contests are generally not box office stuff. Certainly not like the India-Pakistan games of yesteryear or the currently buzzing India-Australia rivalry. However, one man who constantly finds himself in the hot zone is Ravindra Jadeja. Remember that famous face-off with James Anderson during the 2014 tour in England?
While not on the same levels, Jadeja was at the forefront of a few verbal battles with England's players on the second morning of the Edgbaston Test. It started in the second over of the day when Jadeja defended a ball from Chris Woakes on the off-side and took a few steps down the pitch before retreating. The standing umpire in that over, Sharfuddoula, promptly had a word with the left-hander advising him not to go near the danger area of the pitch.
In Woakes' next over, there were a few more occasions when Jadeja was involved in similar incidents, much to the anger of Woakes and England. Skipper Ben Stokes didn't hide his frustrations and had a subtle go at Jadeja while he was bowling. The anger told on the home side's strategies as they went for the short ball ploy, particularly against Jadeja with a largely leg-side dominant field.
To his credit, Jadeja handled the short stuff well, hooking and pulling by rolling his wrists to ensure that it didn't go aerial, and also ducked plenty of times as well. It was a good mix of caution and aggression from Jadeja as he got into the skin of the English players.
Unfortunately, it was the bumper that eventually undid him, denying the southpaw a well-deserved hundred. A nasty bouncer from Josh Tongue had Jadeja nowhere to hide, and his attempts to fend saw him glove one high down the leg-side for Jamie Smith. Regardless, it was a fine innings from Jadeja under pressure as he stitched a crucial 203-run stand with skipper Shubman Gill.
England's bowlers were also guilty of treading close to the danger area of the pitch. Unlike Headingley where the surface looked easy-paced and flat through the five days, Edgbaston has historically known to slow down as the game progresses. The pitches generally still do play well but the slow nature and variable bounce allows spinners to come into play. Considering that England will have to bat last on this pitch and the threat Jadeja carries when there is an iota of help, England's anger was understandable.
Whether Jadeja's antics were deliberate or not, only he will know but they sure added a lot more drama into the proceedings at Edgbaston.
Sports